Living life as a Creative who chooses to Push Past Ordinary in the most Ardithian way! I am a full time working artist, I travel around the U.S. teaching painting workshops as well as in my own studio, and I teach beautiful humans how to increase their own creative awareness and creativity!

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Monday, April 29, 2013

The Abstraction of Glass

If you are familiar with my work then you know I am drawn to color, lots and lots of color. After finishing up the painting "Reflections in Creation" see below, I tackled painting number two as part of my entries for the The Watercolor and Graphic Arts Society show. So many ideas of subject matter came to mind but the concepts of abstract, glass, and the use of fluid acrylics just became a combination that was difficult to resist.

Fluid acrylics, especially Golden's, will perform almost as well as watercolors and create stunning 'bloom' effects when color is floated in wet in wet. This technique was especially important as I worked at keeping the reflections in the piece, "The Abstraction of Glass" flowing and luminous. The composition is minimal, a total juxtaposition between the complexity of reflections, and that is what I loved about it. It reads as an orb to some, an empty glass to others, but totally abstract in nature as well.

For the background, I glazed about 20 layers of very thin, watery acrylic in Titanium and Pistachio over a base of teal/phtalo green shade using a sponge and for the final layer, used saran wrap. The texture that resulted gives contrast while adding interest as a subtle element as well. Two glass paintings, totally different in composition, but equally similar in expressing reflections and color. I learned a lot between these two, such as how challenging it is to paint large through chronic back pain, how patience and planning can go a long way in the success of a piece, and how working slowly over time actually aids in the strength of the finished piece. Although I do miss my mixed media work, it felt really good to get back to watercolors and fluid acrylic work. If you are in Mobile or live on the Eastern Shore, you can see these two paintings at The Eastern Shore Art Center during Artwalk, and I would love to see you as well. You can view my entire Watercolor Gallery on my website too!